Please share your mental health tips!

[ranblungs]

I've been on antidepressants for coming up to four years now, maximum dose. For depression mainly but also anxiety.

I've been well and not depressed for a food while now, no suicidal thoughts.

But recently I can feel myself slipping, sometimes I feel numb and other times I feel really low/sad/anxious etc.

I also keep having extreme reactions to things, someone said something to me at work bothered me and it really was minor but I genuinely screamed and cried in the car on the way home.

Please share your tips on how you stop yourself from falling back in to a dark place? I have been exercising and trying to eat well.

HI OP.

so sorry you are feeling this way, but great for recognising that you’re slipping again.

Firstly, do you have a therapist or even someone who you can confide in? A friend/family member, or even a colleague?

When I feel like I’m slipping into old ways, the things that help me are writing down exactly what it is I’m feeling, why I’m feeling that way and what I’m going to do to make myself feel better.

What works for me is walking, exercising, being outside in nature, up in the hills and getting my blood pumping. Cycling too. I love to just put my head headphones on and just work through what I’m feeling and try and rationalise my thoughts.

I also enjoy meditation, you can just YouTube this. Even practice breathing exercises.

During a really dark period in 2020, I started to practice the law of attraction. I absolutely loved this. I wrote down things that I wanted to attract into my life and spoke (in my head) that these things already exist.

Example “I am healthy, I am happy, I am in the best position mentally l, physically & spiritually. I am great friend, colleague & I attract abundance & love”. It might feel silly at first but it really helps. Again plenty of videos on YouTube.

Also cooking, eating healthy & drinking plenty of water.

Sorry for babbling, but I hope this helps.

x

Get up when you wake up, no lying around in bed. Make the bed. It can be really disparaging to see a messy unkempt bed and yet uplifting to see it nicely made. Get washed. Get out of the house & into nature. Walk if you feel unable to do exercise. Eat unprocessed real food. Learn the importance of good breathing. (There's a book called 'Breathe in, breathe out by Sandeman). Learn meditation to silence mind noise. Make time to consider the things you love doing, even if you don't have the energy to do them. Try to connect with others to get you out of yourself. Therapy.

Well done for noticing that things are going downhill, that’s the first step in being able to turn them around.

I would suggest:

• getting in touch with whatever medical/psychological support you might have had in the past, even if only GP, in case they have ideas about meds/support on offer
• if financially viable or available on NHS, trying to access some talk therapy
• get as much daylight as you can, especially in the morning, and look up (playing a game of counting chimneys works well)
• be really strict with yourself about sleep hygiene, regular bedtime and getting enough rest (even if anxiety means that this rest time isn’t always sleep time)
• reach out to trusted friends and family, let them know you feel things slipping, ask them to help you
• try to do stuff you love when you’re well(for me craft stuff), even if it feels like too much faff, push through if you can and see if you can find the old enjoyment. Likewise with whatever little treats you can afford.
• try to talk to yourself in the kindest voice you can find - you are going through something hard, try to talk to yourself like the kindest, most patient, most supportive person you know would talk to you

Good luck OP! Keep on keeping on. (If you are in the UK) Spring is coming, lighter days, keep an eye out for plants starting to flower. Hold on as the seasons turn and hopefully your mood turns too.

Hi, sorry you feel this way and what a great thing to post advice for!

I've never had such a great stretch of mental health than recently. Here's my reasons:

1. I commit to yoga once a week. I 'shopped around' till I found the most soothing, wonderful teacher.
2. I commit to a HIIT class once a week. I've not done it twice since September due to feeling low and being hormonal. But otherwise the exercise and camaraderie make me feel great.
3. I eat what I want when I want (recovered anorexic)
4. I walk the dog and am deliberately mindful when doing it. Luckily I live by woods and a river and the birdsong has really helped my sense of well-being lately.
5. I've just planted tomatoes and cucumbers and have seedlings! I've been out tidying up the garden and the fresh air really helps.
6. If I'm angry, like you have been when you have had that extreme reaction, I write it down. Then burn it.
7. I change my bed weekly. I need to improve my sleep hygiene as i do use my phone in bed for checking the news etc.
8. I try to be mindful of making my loved ones feel great. So, Nutella on pancake day, on the teacher strike day I brought toast with strawberry jam and smoothies to my children before I left for work.
9. When I feel depressed I stop. I read fiction or watch something I want to on TV. Happy Valley has been my best watch this year. If I watch TV I crochet.

10. I nearly succumbed to a panic attach a few Saturdays ago. Came from nowhere. Anyway, I did some somatic yoga exercises and they really helped. Completely.

I don't take medicines from the doctor as I don't want to confront a myriad of side effects. That might mean my temperament is mild, but I have experienced anorexia, depression and anxiety. I feel a bit uncomfortable in my body right now - I 'feel' heavier than I ever have. I try ti dismiss that feeling as a fraudulent one that won't help me enjoy something every day. Sometimes I need to talk about it but mostly I like to be private. I just try to enjoy a little something every day.

Xx

A healthy diet and doing some exercise every day is seriously underrated.

Look back to the times when you felt better. What were you doing differently? What helped the last time you felt low?

There's also amazing power in purpose and having goals. What do you want this time in your life to look like? What small, realistic steps can you take to move towards that?

Offer yourself the compassion you would offer your best friend or a small child.

Having something to look forward to in the short, medium and long-term. Doesn't have to be huge dramatic things.

Definitely get professional help.

Well done for reaching out 💐

Watching with intersect.
In spite of taking ADs and HRT I still feel anxious/depressed first thing every morning.
It helps when I have to be up and out early (work 3 days a week)
Getting out in the fresh air definitely helps as does some activity, be it house work or a walk.
I have a short cycle to and from work and the us helps a lot.
So my three things are, shower, fresh air and activity.

I agree with suggestions of getting some help/therapy. But if that is not feasible then you could check out the Woebot app. It is free and was designed by a psychologist. I am having therapy but have got the app to see what it is like and I find it really quite good.